The HTEC at Talwada has done a far better job than the public health sector

Thirty, going on sixty. The Hasanali Tobaccowala Eye Centre at Talwada enters its 30th year, even as India celebrates its 60th year of Independence. And here are some of the outstanding personalities involved in keeping the centre going . President Dr. Rumi Jehangir (centre), with PP Dr. Rahim Muljiani to his left and Dr. C.K. Dave to his right. At extreme right is Dr. Mitul Patel, while at extreme left is Rotaryann Pushpa Dave

This may be debatable, but the best compliment ever paid to the work being done by PP Dr. Rahim Muljiani, Chairman Emeritus of the Hasanali Tobaccowala Eye Centre at Talwada, and his team, has come from Mr. H.P. Ranina, Supreme Court advocate and nephew of the renowned Nani Palkhivala.

He said in the course of one of his now-legendary analyses of the Union Budget that the government had allocated huge sums of money for sectors such as rural development, better education and health, and poverty alleviation programmes.

"Our only question is, will this money go to the really intended beneficiaries? He could as well have given the money to a Rotary Club and Dr. Rahim Muljiani and Dr. Rumi Jehangir could have done a better job in the eye hospitals!

"The government doesn.t have delivery mechanisms. The Finance Minister says that he will give the money to panchayats. I know how corrupt panchayats are; the money will just get eaten up by the hundreds of thousands of panchayats all over India. Not even 80% will reach the intended target groups."

A loaded statement. Here is a senior advocate-cum-tax practitioner making a pithy comment on the bureaucracy, right down to the panchayat level; and at the same time opening the eyes of the world to the fact that it is individuals such as Dr. Muljiani and their teams that can really deliver the goods . whether health, education, rural development or poverty alleviation.

Dr. Muljiani and the Rotary Club of Bombay realised long ago that unless they took on the challenge of becoming catalysts for change (rather than complaining about the darkness), they would not be able to make any significant contribution to the world that they inhabit.

The have-nots would continue to remain on the bottom rung of the social ladder and the bulk of the funds especially earmarked for rural health and development would go into the hands of the corrupt.

Be that as it may, not all the apples in the basket are bad. If the Hasanali Tobaccowala Eye Centre at Talwada is functioning and doing well, providing sophisticated but free medical care, then it is also due in large measure to the co-operation received from the local Adivasi Seva Mandal.

It was they who first allowed Dr. Muljiani and his team to use their premises for eye camps in 1978 and then, in 1979, helped make land available for the hospital.

The Maharashtra government, too, has chipped in from time to time, with financial grants that have helped meet costs.

In fact, the HTEC was awarded the prize for the best NGO-run rural eye hospital in the State.

To return to the Talwada saga, it became clear more than 30 years ago that the State was slipping and falling back.

It was at that time that Dr. Muljiani and several like-minded members of the Rotary Club of Bombay got together as 'concerned citizens' and lit a bulb rather than curse the darkness.

Like a student, the HTEC has gone on from 'graduation' to doing its 'Masters'

Toby Tobaccowala, Brij Grover, Niki Desai, Jimmy Guzder, Ashokkumar, Soli Godrej, Bansi Mody, K.C. Narang, Pheroze Vakil, H.T. Parekh, P.M.D. Thackersey, the Jain Social Group, the Volkart Foundation . the list of "concerned" citizens is very, very long.

And it was not just cash or kind that mattered. What was also required was total dedication to the cause. This, too, was forthcoming in the shape of such outstanding professionals as Dr. C.K. Dave, the anaesthetist who visits the HTEC even today when he is over 80 years old; President Dr. Rumi Jehangir, who started visiting Talwada even before he became a member of the Rotary Club of Bombay.

Dr. Anil Deshpande, a budding ophthalmic surgeon who could have had the world at his feet a quarter century back, but who gave up everything and agreed to live at Talwada and tend to the patients; Dr. Mitul Patel, another young surgeon who has proved to be a great asset to the HTEC.

To return to Mr. Ranina.s comments, it is a wonder that funds have flowed in for the HTEC despite the difficulties involved; there are innumerable formalities such as certificates for tax-exemption, the filling of dozens of forms and so on. Funds have come from concerned citizens and organisations, but it has not been an easy task.

Thanks to the generosity of donors, several new services and facilities are becoming available at the HTEC. Corneal grafting has become a reality, a Yag Laser is in place, so is an Argon Laser; water-purifiers, diesel generator sets, kitchens, equipments, everything is constantly under surveillance, maintenance and repair.

With good equipment and personnel, the standard of medicare offered is so high that even the worst of cases emerges with new, improved vision.

In a brief interface with The Gateway, Dr. Muljiani reveals that increasingly, the patients visiting the HTEC are those who have been mistreated either at an eye camp or at a private/government hospital. This is not to denigrate the services provided by the latter, but to highlight the fact that HTEC has now become a place where cases 'spoiled' by others are sent for better medicare. Like a student, it has gone on from "graduation" to doing its "Masters".

Finally, the sceptics may ask, just what do Dr. Muljiani and his team do? They go there regularly, perform some surgeries, have a hearty meal and drive back to Bombay.

The patients come (some from long distances), get operated and go back home. What.s so great about that?

First of all, Talwada is now better connected by bus to the neighbouring towns of Dahanu and Mokhada. Second, the road off the National Highway from Charoti to Talwada is well-tarred. Third, HTEC is a regular stop for buses plying the route.

Dr. Mitul Patel in action. This accomplished surgeon, who was invited to the Club when he was a callow youngster on account of his sincerity and dedication, has lived up to the promise. He rarely shirks his responsibilities and is always ready to share another surgeon.s load

Two points, however, need to be emphasised over and over again.

Primarily, the residents of Talwada and the .catchment area. of HTEC are no longer in danger of losing their eyesight on account of preventable conditions such as cataract, glaucoma and so on.

No cases of preventable blindness have been reported from this area for several years.

Living at the HTEC in Talwada for the last 25 years, Dr. Anil Deshpande is the Resident Ophthalmic Surgeon. Every villager for miles around knows that he will be there when needed. How many people renounce lucrative careers as surgeons and agree to settle down in a village for their entire working lives?

And the icing on the cake is the visible change in the landscape in and around Talwada village. If you have not been to HTEC for four or five years, go now and see the difference

You will not believe your eyes. From being a nondescript village with a few ramshackle huts, it has transformed into a proper village. Huts continue to dot the landscape, but many of the mud-and-leaf hovels have been replaced by brick-andmortar homes.

There are general stores selling a variety of things, a telephone booth and other businesses.

But one of the abiding images you would carry back is that of cement dealers. And you would be happy to see that more than one cement manufacturer .s brand name is painted on some of the walls of the homes that make up Talwada.

The President in action. PP Dr. Rahim Muljiani glances at the outstanding work being done by Dr. Rumi Jehangir. Laser work, corneal grafting, these and other features constitute the gift of sight and Dr. Rumi is there at the forefront, working hand in hand with his colleagues

Cement means construction . for industry, for development, for betterment, for change.

At the same time, another interesting board meets the eye . for a pilot project of the Rotary Club of Bombay for organic farming.

Thus, HTEC has become a catalyst for responsible change. The only thing that is permanent is change. If nobody else does it, step forward and do it yourself. Change is inevitable, it will follow. This is the lesson that Dr. Rahim Muljiani and his team has taught us.

Top